Marcella to return for second series

ITV's crime drama 'Marcella' will return with a second series early next year

The ITV crime show has been given the go ahead for another installment of eight episodes after Anna Friel agreed to reprise her role as Detective Sargent Marcella Summers next year.

The show's screenwriter, Hans Rosenfeldt, announced the news at the Edinburgh International TV festival and teased that fans of the show can expect to explore the world of Marcella and several other characters in much more depth.

He said: "I was delighted at the reaction to the first season and am thrilled to be revisiting 'Marcella' for ITV.

"In the second season, the audience will get the opportunity to spend more time in her world, further exploring some of the characters and getting to know them better."

Meanwhile, executive producer, Tony Wood, is thrilled to be working on a brand new series and was full of praise for both Anna and Hans.

He added: "The combination of Hans' masterful writing, Anna's gripping performance and Buccaneer's superb production team struck a chord with viewers.

"Naturally we're delighted to be working with ITV to create a second season of Marcella."

Further casting details are expected to be unveiled in the next few months.

Anna, 40, previously said she was "scared" she wouldn't be able to do her 'Marcella' role justice the day after accepting the part, when it first aired in April.

At the time, she said: "I was quite scared at one point. I said yes the next day because otherwise they'd have had to move on, or in the next few days.

"And then I started to go, 'What can I do? I can't play that, I know nothing about that world.' "

But Anna - who shot to fame as 'Brookside's Beth Jordache - soon got to grips with her "odd" alter ego.

She added: "Then suddenly she started to come together. We've created a new word, we go, 'Let's Marcella it up.' She's quite odd."